New Books
City of Wood: San Francisco and the Architecture of the Redwood Lumber Industry
“City of Wood” by architectural historian James Michael Buckley explores San Francisco’s rise as the American West’s first major metropolis, driven by the exploitation of California’s redwood forests. The book examines the interconnected network of logging camps, company towns, and urban centers that formed a regional “city of wood.” Buckley illustrates how the redwood industry provided both financial capital and construction materials for San Francisco’s rapid growth following the 1849 gold rush. By analyzing this resource extraction network, the author demonstrates the crucial link between the city’s development and the exploitation of natural resources in its hinterland.
Artificial Intelligence in Architecture
AI in architecture has reached a pivotal point, transforming both design practices and theoretical discussions. From practical applications to innovative tools for morphological studies, AI is reshaping the field. The most profound shift lies in the reevaluation of authorship, as nonhuman agents now generate over 50% of content. This raises urgent questions about the role of human creators in an AI-driven design world. This book explores the evolving relationship between architects and AI, featuring insights from leading voices like Cesare Battelli, Mario Carpo, and Andrew Witt, among others.
Rewi: Āta haere, kia tere
Rewi: Ata haere, kia tere is a tribute to the late architect Rewi Thompson (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa), a visionary thinker who believed that great architecture is crafted through careful consideration of people and place. This book brings together a breathtaking range of his projects, from conceptual dreamscapes to one-of-a-kind homes. It is written by one of the rising stars of architecture and a well-known commentator on urban issues, and includes interviews with those who worked with him.
Transpecies Design: Design for a Posthumanist World
The UN's 2019 Global Assessment Report warns of impending mass extinction due to human activities. To address this crisis, the book proposes a shift from anthropocentric design to transpecies design. This approach recognizes the interconnectedness of all living beings and aims to regenerate the natural environment while preserving biodiversity. By moving beyond human-centric perspectives, transpecies design offers a new framework for creating sustainable solutions. The book serves as a crucial resource for professionals and students in various design fields, architecture, environmental philosophy, and cultural studies, advocating for a more holistic and inclusive approach to design that benefits all species.
Earth, Sky and Water: Houses in the Nordic Style
Mette Lange's "Earth, Sky & Water" showcases thirteen houses designed with natural materials and human-scale comfort. The book is divided into three chapters: "By the Water," "In the Forest," and "In the Countryside." Lange's unique approach involves camping on-site before designing, ensuring a deep connection with the environment. The book features inviting photography, detailed project descriptions, and highlights Lange's socially responsible work in India. Kenneth Frampton contributes a foreword to this visual feast of Scandinavian summerhouses, which also serves as an inspiration for architects seeking to run sustainable studios.
European Churches and Chinese Temples As Neuro-Theatrical Sites
This book explores how religious sanctuaries across cultures reflect and influence human cognition and behavior. It analyzes over 80 Christian, Buddhist, and other sacred buildings, examining how their designs embody cultural ideals and shape visitors' experiences. The author argues that these spaces serve as "inner theatres" where believers perform their faith, interacting with divine entities and reinforcing group identities. By integrating insights from humanities and sciences, the book demonstrates how architectural elements reflect historical meta-theatrical projections and affect modern visitors' embodied cognition. It compares European and Chinese religious sites, revealing distinct cultural trajectories in individualist/collectivist thinking and performative traditions.
On the Appearance of the World: A Future for Aesthetics in Architecture
How can architecture develop better aesthetic directions for the twenty-first-century built environment? Our world, increasingly defined by efficient but unconsidered architecture and cities, seems to be getting uglier. In On the Appearance of the World, Mark Foster Gage asks why. He imagines a future scenario where architectural design and ideas from aesthetic philosophy align toward the production of a built world that is more humane, habitable, beautiful, and just.
FABRIC[ated]: Fabric Innovation and Material Responsibility in Architecture
FABRIC[ated] explores fabric's role as a catalyst for innovation and transformation in architecture. The book examines how fabric research and development has influenced architectural design, teaching, and practice. It highlights fabric's responsive, flexible, and adaptive qualities, offering innovative solutions and increased material responsibility. The text is divided into foundation and theory chapters, followed by case studies of 14 international projects categorized under Veiling, Compression, and Tension. These projects showcase diverse applications of fabric in architecture, from concrete forming to building skins, demonstrating new methods for addressing sustainability and social justice. The book appeals to both students and practitioners, providing pedagogical and practical models for fabric use in architecture.
Manual of Biogenic House Sections
This book explores sustainable house construction using materials that sequester carbon or have low embodied carbon. It showcases 55 modern houses built with wood, bamboo, straw, hemp, cork, earth, brick, stone, and recycled materials. The book presents detailed cross-sectional drawings, exploded axonometrics, and photographs of each house, demonstrating how these materials influence architectural design. By focusing on modest-sized homes and their role in architectural experimentation, the book aims to transform current building practices and promote environmentally conscious construction for a more sustainable future.
Vernacular Architecture: Critical and Primary Sources
"Vernacular Architecture: Critical and Primary Sources" is a comprehensive four-volume collection of essential readings on traditional building cultures worldwide. Spanning 200 years of scholarship, it offers a framework for understanding vernacular architecture studies. The volumes trace the field's evolution from rural, romantic interpretations to contemporary, interdisciplinary perspectives. This collection connects historical insights to modern urban challenges, making it valuable for scholars, professionals, and policymakers. It serves as a crucial resource for architecture, conservation, planning, material culture, art history, geography, and heritage studies.
Building Bad: How Architectural Utility Is Constrained by Politics and Damaged by Expression
The author contends that architectural functionality is constrained by political and economic forces while being undermined by expressive modes. Utilitarian elements like windows may conflict with energy conservation goals, while expressive systems can overshadow practical considerations. Politics and economics set boundaries for utilitarian functions, evaluated based on wealth accumulation in a competitive global economy. Simultaneously, artistic sensibilities driven by competition often lead to impractical building forms. This tension between functionality, economic constraints, and artistic expression creates a complex interplay in architectural design, challenging architects to balance practical needs with aesthetic and symbolic values.
John Outram
This book offers the first comprehensive study of John Outram, an architect known for his decorative and elemental designs. It explores Outram's innovative buildings, including The New House at Wadhurst and the Isle of Dogs Pumping Station, as well as unrealized projects. The author, Geraint Franklin, examines how Outram's work blends architectural history, metaphysics, and mythology, using storytelling and iconography to communicate shared values. The book delves into Outram's creative approach to building technology and his reconciliation of traditional architectural roles with modern design. Featuring new photography and archival images, it provides fresh insights into this significant late 20th-century architect.
Le Corbusier's Chandigarh Revisited: Preservation As Future Modernism
This book reevaluates Le Corbusier's Chandigarh through a contemporary lens, examining its relevance to modern challenges like climate change, globalization, and technology. The author, a former resident and scholar, employs poststructuralist and postcolonial perspectives to explore preservation, identity, and change in the city. The work analyzes Chandigarh's current state against original plans, questioning the continued relevance of its aesthetics and ethical foundations in urban planning. It examines the city's hydrology, Capitol buildings' symbolism, and the unbuilt Museum of Knowledge, arguing for Chandigarh as an 'open' work designed for future completion. This engaging study appeals to those interested in architecture and urban planning.
World Architecture and Society: From Stonehenge to One World Trade Center [2 Volumes]
This two-volume encyclopedia explores globally significant buildings and sites throughout history, divided into four regional sections: the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific. It features regional essays examining architectural development across time and cultures. Entries highlight the unique importance of structures like Stonehenge and Angkor Wat, as well as broader building traditions such as Spanish colonial missions and medieval Islamic universities. The encyclopedia also includes remarkable stories of architectural achievement and memory, like Tuskegee University and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, focusing on both architectural aspects and social significance.
Architecture and Objects
Graham Harman's "Architecture and Objects" introduces object-oriented ontology (OOO) to architectural theory, challenging traditional concepts of form and function. Harman critiques influential philosophers and proposes de-relationalized versions of form and function (zero-form and zero-function) to expand architecture's possibilities. He engages with prominent architects' works and writings, offering a new perspective on architecture's role in revitalizing aesthetic paradigms. The book aims to deepen the dialogue between philosophy and architecture, providing fresh insights into contemporary architectural language and practice.
The Architecture of Disability: Buildings, Cities, and Landscapes Beyond Access
"The Architecture of Disability" by David Gissen proposes a radical shift in architectural thinking, placing disability at the core of design rather than as an afterthought. Gissen argues that physical capacity should be fundamental to spatial conception, challenging the conventional approach of merely accommodating disabilities. By examining historical sites and urban spaces, he demonstrates how disability has always influenced architecture. The book advocates for integrating disabled perspectives into architectural production, reimagining the field's foundations and moving beyond traditional accessibility concepts. This approach offers a new lens to understand and create built environments that truly embrace human diversity.
Expanding Field of Architecture: Women in Practice Across the Globe
This book documents contemporary architectural projects designed by women architects participating in diverse forms of practice in diverse regions around the world. Examining each design within its unique context, this collection of forty projects includes beautifully illustrated case studies of transformative buildings, encompassing a range of sizes, building types, materials, and construction methods. Overcoming historical challenges within architectural practice, the women architects in this collection lead their firms and expand the field of architecture.
Mok Wei Wei: Works by W Architects
This monograph explores the work of Mok Wei Wei, a leading Singaporean architect, over three decades. It showcases his projects with W Architects, including apartment complexes, museums, and community centers, highlighting his innovative solutions for building in a tropical city. The book is organized into three themes—"Refract," "Respond," and "Reflect"—tracing his career from the 1980s to today. It illustrates his approach to designing for a dense urban environment while addressing challenges like climate, heritage preservation, and national identity. Essential for fans and architects working in tropical cities globally.
Bayana: The Sources of Mughal Architecture
Bayana, a city in Rajasthan, challenges conventional views on Muslim architecture and urban development in India. In the late 12th century, Muslim conquerors captured a Hindu fort and established two towns - one below and another within the fort. These towns became the center of an autonomous region in the 15th and 16th centuries. The book explores how Bayana's unique artistic traditions, which evolved independently from Delhi, influenced North Indian architecture. Notably, it argues that many features of the renowned Mughal architectural style originated from innovations first developed in Bayana, highlighting the city's significant but often overlooked role in shaping India's architectural heritage.
Adjaye - Works 1995-2007: Houses, Pavilions, Installations, Buildings
David Adjaye―Works showcases the early career of this renowned international architect, known for his innovative use of space and materials. The book explores Adjaye's initial projects, from private homes to public buildings, which laid the foundation for his unique brand of "critical regionalism." It highlights his creative urban interventions, such as rooftop living spaces and sunken courtyards, across London and Brooklyn. The monograph presents these early works with new analyses and archival material, demonstrating Adjaye's artistic sensitivity and architectural ingenuity that have since propelled him to global acclaim, exemplified by projects like the National Museum for African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
Studio Gang: Architecture
The most in-depth exploration of one of the most important, innovative, and creative architecture practices working today. For the last twenty years Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, has created bold, visionary architecture that engages the urgent social and environmental challenges of our time. This first comprehensive monograph brings together 25 signature projects-from the award-winning Aqua Tower and Writers Theatre to highly-anticipated upcoming buildings for the American Museum of Natural History and O'Hare International Airport-to reveal the resonant concepts and design approach that connect them. With a rich variety of visual materials and short essays by Jeanne Gang, the book elegantly captures the creative sensibility and trajectory of an architecture driven by pressing twenty-first-century questions.
In the Land of the Patriarchs: Design and Contestation in West Bank Settlements
"In the Land of the Patriarchs" offers an in-depth exploration of West Bank settlements, revealing their complex evolution beyond political motivations. Noam Shoked examines how these controversial residential projects were shaped by diverse actors, including developers, environmentalists, and ordinary Israelis seeking housing solutions. The book highlights the unexpected collaborations and conflicts that influenced settlement design and construction, reflecting varied worldviews and aesthetic visions. Shoked demonstrates that the transformation of political ideology into physical structures is often unpredictable, driven by pragmatic choices and unforeseen circumstances rather than solely by high-level political decisions.
Building America: The Life of Benjamin Henry Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, America's first professional architect, left an indelible mark on the new republic's landscape. An English émigré, Latrobe contributed to iconic structures like the US Capitol, White House, and Navy Yard, creating neoclassical interiors that embodied American democracy. He also designed engineering projects to unite the nation and improve public health. Despite his genius and efforts to establish architecture as a respected profession, Latrobe faced financial struggles throughout his career. Jean Baker's "Building America" portrays Latrobe as a charming yet driven figure who played a crucial role in shaping the American aesthetic during the early years of the United States.
Philip Johnson: A Visual Biography
A spectacular visual biography of one of the most celebrated architects and cultural icons of the twentieth century With his elegant suits and trademark round black glasses, Philip Johnson - a witty, wealthy, and well-connected architect - was for many years the most powerful figure in the society and politics of his profession. This impressively illustrated book traces his seven decades of larger-than-life influence, innovation, and controversy in the realm of architecture and beyond. Hundreds of images and documents, many published here for the first time, trace the remarkable life and career of a true legend.
The Complexities of John Hejduk's Work: Exorcising Outlines, Apparitions and Angels
This book explores John Hejduk's architectural career through the lens of "exorcism," revealing his thought process and profound questioning of architectural design. It divides his work into three eras, using analogies of outlines, apparitions, and angels across seven chapters. The author examines key projects like the Texas houses, Wall House, and Architectural Masques to investigate Hejduk's imaginative progression. Featuring insights from notable figures in architecture, the book offers a deep dive into Hejduk's mind, making it valuable for those interested in 20th-century architecture and design.
The Elements of Modern Architecture: Understanding Contemporary Buildings
"The Elements of Modern Architecture" showcases influential buildings from 1950 to present, analyzed through detailed freehand drawings. The book examines key architectural elements such as site, space, details, and natural light in a diverse range of structures worldwide. It explores what makes these buildings significant contributions to architecture, focusing on their innovative forms, construction techniques, and responses to local conditions. With over 2,500 hand-drawn illustrations, the book encourages readers to appreciate architecture through direct observation and critical thinking, emphasizing the importance of physical experience in understanding memorable design.
The Women Who Changed Architecture
"The Women Who Changed Architecture" is a comprehensive visual chronicle showcasing over 100 influential women in architecture from the 19th century to the present day. The book highlights pioneers like Marion Mahony Griffin, who passed the architectural licensure exam in 1898 and contributed significantly to Frank Lloyd Wright's reputation through her exquisite drawings. It also features contemporary leaders such as MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, who focuses on sustainable design and equitable urban spaces. This essential resource offers in-depth profiles and stunning images, illustrating the transformative impact of women on the field of architecture worldwide.
Fake Heritage: Why We Rebuild Monuments
"Fake Heritage" explores the global phenomenon of replicated historical landmarks and artifacts. John Darlington examines various examples, from replica Eiffel Towers to reconstructed ancient cities, discussing the ethical implications and consequences of fabricating cultural heritage. The book delves into the complexities of historical authenticity, distinguishing between blatant frauds and respectful homages. It also addresses the challenges of faithful recreations and the impact of modern technology on our perception of history. Through stunning visuals and insightful analysis, Darlington reveals how the duplication of heritage raises intriguing questions about our relationship with the past.
Future Cities: A Visual Guide
This book explores the visual history and future of cities, examining how architects, artists, and designers have imagined urban environments in response to global challenges. It analyzes the implications of these visualizations, considering who benefits from future cities and why they are desirable. By experimenting with visualizations, the book highlights their power and agency in shaping our understanding of urban futures. Through critical lenses such as technological, social, and global perspectives, it provides a comprehensive analysis of future city visions, engaging creatively with how we perceive tomorrow's world and contributing to broader future studies.
Vernacular Architecture in the 21st Century: Theory, Education and Practice
The issues surrounding the function and meaning of vernacular architecture in the twenty-first century are complex and extensive. Taking a distinctively rigorous theoretical approach, this book considers these issues from a number of perspectives, broadening current debate to a wider multidisciplinary audience. These collected essays from the leading experts in the field focus on theory, education and practice in this essential sector of architecture, and help to formulate solutions to the environmental, disaster management and housing challenges facing the global community today.
Informal settlements of the Global South
This book challenges conventional thinking on human settling, mobility, and placemaking through 15 global case studies. It questions the traditional divisions of Global North vs. South and formal vs. informal spaces, exploring the interconnectedness of these concepts. The authors, from diverse backgrounds, use the 'Global South' as a methodological tool to examine settling and unsettling worldwide. The studies highlight the agency and resourcefulness of marginalized communities, revealing untold stories of adaptation and contestation. This fresh perspective on the North-South debate offers new insights for researchers, students, and professionals in architecture, planning, politics, and sociology.
Inventor of the Future: The Visionary Life of Buckminster Fuller
Alec Nevala-Lee's "Inventor of the Future" is a comprehensive biography of Buckminster Fuller, the visionary designer and futurist renowned for the geodesic dome. The book explores Fuller's revolutionary approach to design problems, his concept of Spaceship Earth, and his influence on sustainability and technology. Nevala-Lee delves into Fuller's most famous inventions, his relationships with notable figures, and his tumultuous personal life. Drawing from extensive research and interviews, the biography offers a nuanced portrait of Fuller's career, challenging the myth of him as an otherworldly generalist. It highlights Fuller's enduring legacy and the continued relevance of his ideas in today's rapidly changing world.
Book summaries composed with AI-assistance.